A Story, A Lifetime
by RainiiChan
Summary: "Once you meet someone, you never really forget them. It just takes a while for the memories to return." Chihiro does not recall what exactly happened to her, but she has not completely forgotten everything. Flashbacks as well as memories from her childhood continue to interfere with Chihiro's life as she struggles between moving on and trying to remember. ONE-SHOT


**I suck with updating, so I've officially given up on writing full-length fanfics. I only dedicate myself to spontaneous one-shots now, and yes watching Spirited Away FOR THE FIRST TIME 3 nights ago has inspired me to write one. c:**

* * *

 _"Once you meet someone, you never really forget them. It just takes a while for your memories to return."_

It had been six years since Chihiro and her parents first moved into their new home, with no recollection of what had happened on their way there aside from wandering into a long, dark tunnel and then emerging from it only to find that weeks had already gone by, judging by the fallen leaves and dust on their car. The entire thing had always been quite strange, too strange to ponder; Chihiro simply tucked the broken memories away in a dusty corner of her mind.

The only object that still reminded her of that experience was her purple hairtie, which was always seen either wrapped around Chihiro's ponytail or around her left wrist. Chihiro never let it out of sight even when she slept or bathed. She did not know why she was so attached to it; everything just felt weird if it were not around.

* * *

 _That cold rush of exhilaration which quickly transformed into utter terror bubbled and swarmed all around her as she struggled to breathe. It was nearly impossible to fight the current, let alone try to rescue her shoe which had already been carried away by the swift-moving waters._

 _Chihiro flailed around aimlessly, but to no avail. The panic rose up in her throat, thick and dense like her mom's expensive perfume; she gurgled and choked, feeling her head spin and the world slowly growing dark._

 _Just then, she felt a presence. His presence. How she knew it was a "he", she did not know how to explain. But he helped her. She felt him all around her –felt him carry her on his back to safety. Chihiro somehow managed to open her eyes for just a brief moment while all this was happening, and through her blurry eyes, she could just barely make out the shape of the white dragon who had saved her life that day._

Chihiro rose from her bed with a start, trying to steady her breathing. Glancing at the clock, which read 7:30 AM, she wrapped her arms around her knees and groaned. This dream had continued to haunt her ever since she was ten, and each time it had always been the same. The same river. The same shoe. The same dragon.

She was already in her early twenties, at a university studying to become an environmentalist. She had friends, family, and a bright future ahead of her. So why wouldn't she let go of a past that she could not even remember?

Chihiro gazed wordlessly at the purple hair elastic on the nightstand next to her bed. She wasn't sure if it was just a trick of the light, but for a brief moment it seemed to shimmer at her.

* * *

"This seems like a good spot!" Ryuu beckoned to Chihiro, splaying a red-and-white checkered cloth across the fresh green grass. They were next to a river, a ribbon of cyan that reflected the cloudless summer sky. Birds glided and chattered overhead while red and black squirrels darted about, nibbling on bread crumbs dropped by previous visitors.

Chihiro grinned and sat down with her fiancé, placing her left hand in his. She was wonderfully engaged to the love of her life, about to be married in only three weeks. Everything was supposedly perfect.

However, a small voice seemed to nag at her despite her good fortune and happiness. The voice did not really utter words, per se; it was more like an instinct. Chihiro watched the river sing and bubble its way down, seeing the occasional flash of silver that indicated the presence of fish. That voice continued to bother her, and a feeling of emptiness seemed to worm its way into her heart.

Feeling instantly guilty for being discontent with everything she already had, Chihiro looked away from the waters and squeezed Ryuu's hand, the smile wearing thin on her face.

* * *

Despite the fact that Chihiro now lived with her husband in Tokyo, she still insisted on taking spontaneous road trips by herself to her old hometown. She would then take a long walk in the nearby forest, following the same dirt path that her parents' old Audi once took when they first arrived. She always went that way, passing by those familiar little rock structures that resembled houses, and stopping when she reached the stone statue that was perpetually smiling. Chihiro would then take a few more steps and place her hand against the moss-covered door that she somehow recalled to be red.

Sometimes, she would receive bits and pieces of flashbacks about the strangest things, like talking sootballs and a giant baby; however, Chihiro could never make sense of those memories because they were so scattered. The only thing that made sense to her was the white dragon from when she fell into the river, though, as well as the warm touch of somebody's hand. A touch that was so comforting, so gentle. No one, not even Ryuu, could stir up such feelings of peace and contentment that would well up and spill over from the innermost chambers of Chihiro's heart.

* * *

Chihiro had returned to her sacred place, but this time more distraught than ever. Leaning against the ancient, but still strong door for stability, the middle-aged woman now felt the tears come but did not bother to wipe them away.

She had just signed her divorce papers. The man who she had trusted most in this world, the man who was the closest thing to her best friend, protector, and partner, had betrayed her for another woman. Apparently she was his first love.

Chihiro was not upset because he left her. Well, she was, but it was not the most important reason. The most important reason was that she had placed so much trust in a person, only to have him turn around and cast it away like it was worth nothing to him. Chihiro had always placed a great emphasis on trust and love, so being betrayed hurt her even more.

She slowly sank down until she was curled up against the door and wept until the sun painted its goodbye in the purple horizons. Chihiro groggily drifted off to sleep, unaware of the pale figure who sat quietly by her side, guarding her against vengeful spirits that roamed the woods at night.

* * *

" _We must restore the Kohaku River."_

" _Wh-what?" Chihiro couldn't believe her ears._

" _Our next plan should be to uncover as many rivers that have been sealed underground as we can and restore them to their former beauty. Rivers are a necessity to many ecosystems, and the Kohaku River would be an ideal place to start since the people have fled the town that was constructed over it. I believe that…" Hotaru Fujitaka, her fellow environmentalist and professor at the University of Tokyo continued on with her ramble, but Chihiro had already stopped listening._

 _Kohaku… she thought to herself. The name seemed to ring a bell._

It did.

She remembered now. Not everything, but some which she presumed to be the most important fragments.

Chihiro ignored the chatter and laughter of her coworkers as she stripped off her rubber boots and gloves. Uncovering the river and helping it begin to sustain life again had taken many, many months of toil and sleepless nights, but they had finally done it.

Feeling her bare toes curl against the smooth pebbles, Chihiro bent down to touch the water, scooping some of it up and feeling the cool liquid drip through the cracks between her fingers. She smiled to herself, and a tear fell from her cheek and into the water with a soft "plip".

"Thank you for rescuing me that day, Ko-…no, Haku. I'm sorry it took such a long while for me to remember you, and I'm sorry that I still don't know everything that happened yet, but I'm glad that you finally get your river back. It is now my turn to protect you and your fellow nature spirits, and I swear I will continue to do so for as long as I live."

The current did not stop, and the fish did not answer her, but Chihiro still felt an overwhelming feeling of joy flood her from head to toe, almost as if she were wrapped in a warm embrace.

* * *

Chihiro now lived in a small cabin by the Kohaku. When she was home, tourists and visitors who came to admire the river were welcome to drop by and listen to her tell the tale of her childhood: the one with the mysterious white dragon. Men and women of all ages and backgrounds listened attentively as the aging woman recited the same story over and over again. Chihiro never added alterations to her story or attempted to make it sound fancier than it was, but those who asked for the tale were nevertheless mesmerized by the sound of her raspy but enchanting voice that always seemed to draw people in as well as the youthful glimmer in her eye that would surface whenever she uttered the name "Haku".

* * *

Chihiro, feeling that her time was near, was lying in her bed with her hands peacefully folded across her abdomen. She wasn't sure if it was simply hallucinations, but her her room was becoming brighter and brighter. This phenomenon continued until the soft yellow light completely surrounded her and filled her with unexplainable joy. Chihiro felt herself become light, and unconsciously, she began to float upwards, her spirit detaching from her human body.

She also felt herself becoming filled with youthful energy, the energy she had back when she was in her teenage years. Chihiro let down her ponytail and flung the purple elastic upwards, feeling waves of memories coming back to her. All these faces, so strange yet so familiar. Voices, events, feelings. Everything was coming back all of a sudden, but she was feeling too much all at once to even register it as overwhelming.

The spirit world. How could she have forgotten? The friends she made, the adventures she had and the horrors she faced. It had taken her a lifetime, but Chihiro finally remembered everything.

She was flying now. Flying out of her open window, up high into the sky, toward the mountain, into the trees, and finally following the familiar dirt path all the way up to the statue and the door, which was somehow red again.

Chihiro didn't even hesitate. She hurtled right through, too exhilarated to feel anything else. She was even more elated to see the dark tunnel again. The same one she went through when she came to and exited the spirit world. She was dead, and presumably a spirit now, so it should be okay to go through, right?

Chihiro sped along the tunnel, eyes only trained on the light at the end. She felt her heart lift as she burst out into the open, surrounded by the same grassy fields and cloudless skies that she had first seen so many decades ago.

Unable to stop herself from grinning like a fool, Chihiro allowed her legs and her instincts to carry her toward her destination, her heart doing a little flip when she saw _him_ waiting, on the other side of the red wooden bridge.

He looked almost exactly like he did when she left, except taller. And a little older. But his green eyes were still as warm and kind as they were when they first met.

"Haku!" she cried, practically leaping the bridge and launching herself into his arms. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she sobbed and sobbed, unable to choke out anything else.

Haku was stunned for a moment, but that soon passed as the river spirit wrapped his arms around Chihiro as fiercely as she had tackled him, blinking away happy tears of his own. He had watched over her for so long, and finally he was able to once more laugh with her, speak to her, and hold her in his arms.

Except this time, she was here to stay.

"Welcome back, Chihiro! I'm glad…" Haku murmured while drawing back just enough to touch his forehead to hers, not wanting to ever let go again.

* * *

 **I did a lot of research, and it seems that after the entire ordeal, Chihiro lost all memory of her journey through the spirit world. :/ BUT THAT WAS JUST TOO DEPRESSING FOR ME TO TAKE, SO VOILA I WROTE THIS SO THAT IT WOULDN'T BE THAT WAY.**

 **Also, "I'm glad" is something super weird and unromantic to say in English, but "yokatta" is what it would be in Japanese and it is something that is commonly used in anime c: so I included it.**

 **Please review/follow/favorite/anything! It would be much appreciated. 3**

 **~Rainii**


End file.
